Rest assured that the media will ignore this story, just as they have ignored the healthcare premium increases across the country, the abortion popularly known as "Obamacare," or the anything but Affordable Care Act, and 17 trillion in degenerate spending (and Obamacare hasn't even kicked in yet).

Health plans are sending hundreds of thousands of cancellation
letters to people who buy their own coverage, frustrating some consumers
who want to keep what they have and forcing others to buy more costly
policies.

The main reason insurers offer is that the policies fall short of
what the Affordable Care Act requires starting Jan. 1. Most are ending
policies sold after the law passed in March 2010. At least a few are
cancelling plans sold to people with pre-existing medical conditions.

By all accounts, the new policies will offer consumers better
coverage, in some cases, for comparable cost -- especially after the
inclusion of federal subsidies for those who qualify. The law requires
policies sold in the individual market to cover 10 “essential” benefits,
such as prescription drugs, mental health treatment and maternity care.
In addition, insurers cannot reject people with medical problems or
charge them higher prices. The policies must also cap consumers’ annual
expenses at levels lower than many plans sold before the new rules.

But the cancellation notices, which began arriving in August, have
shocked many consumers in light of President Barack Obama’s promise that
people could keep their plans if they liked them.

“I don’t feel like I need to change, but I have to,” said Jeff
Learned, a television editor in Los Angeles, who must find a new plan
for his teenage daughter, who has a health condition that has required
multiple surgeries.

An estimated 14 million people purchase their own coverage because
they don’t get it through their jobs. Calls to insurers in several
states showed that many have sent notices.

Florida Blue, for example, is terminating about 300,000 policies,
about 80 percent of its individual policies in the state. Kaiser
Permanente in California has sent notices to 160,000 people – about half
of its individual business in the state. Insurer Highmark in
Pittsburgh is dropping about 20 percent of its individual market
customers, while Independence Blue Cross, the major insurer in
Philadelphia, is dropping about 45 percent.

Some Policies Targeted

Both Independence and Highmark are cancelling so-called “guaranteed
issue” policies, which had been sold to customers who had pre-existing
medical conditions when they signed up. Policyholders with regular
policies because they did not have health problems will be given an
option to extend their coverage through next year.

Consumer advocates say such cancellations raise concerns that companies may be targeting their most costly enrollees.

They may be “doing this as an opportunity to push their populations
into the exchange and purge their systems” of policyholders they no
longer want, said Jerry Flanagan, an attorney with the advocacy group
Consumer Watchdog in California.

Insurers deny that, saying they are encouraging existing customers to re-enroll in their new plans.

“We continue to cover people with all types of health conditions,” said Highmark spokeswoman Kristin Ash.

She said some policyholders who may have faced limited coverage for
their medical conditions will get new plans with “richer benefits” and
the policies “in most cases, will be at a lower rate.”

Paula Sunshine, vice president of marketing with Independence, said
the insurer hopes the cancelled policyholders will “choose Blue when
they decide on a new plan.”

Higher Costs?

Some receiving cancellations say it looks like their costs will go
up, despite studies projecting that about half of all enrollees will get
income-based subsidies.

Kris Malean, 56, lives outside Seattle, and has a health policy that
costs $390 a month with a $2,500 deductible and a $10,000 in potential
out-of-pocket costs for such things as doctor visits, drug costs or
hospital care.

As a replacement, Regence BlueShield is offering her a plan for $79
more a month with a deductible twice as large as what she pays now, but
which limits her potential out-of-pocket costs to $6,250 a year,
including the deductible.

“My impression was …there would be a lot more choice, driving some of
the rates down,” said Malean, who does not believe she is eligible for a
subsidy.

Regence spokeswoman Rachelle Cunningham said the new plans offer
consumers broader benefits, which “in many cases translate into higher
costs.”

“The arithmetic is inescapable,” said Patrick Johnston, chief
executive officer of the California Association of Health Plans. Costs
must be spread, so while some consumers will see their premiums drop,
others will pay more -- “no matter what people in Washington say.”

Health insurance experts say new prices will vary and much depends on
where a person lives, their age and the type of policy they decide to
buy. Some, including young people and those with skimpy or
high-deductible plans, may see an increase. Others, including those with
health problems or who buy coverage with higher deductibles than they
have now, may see lower premiums.

Blue Shield of California sent roughly 119,000 cancellation notices
out in mid-September, about 60 percent of its individual business.
About two-thirds of those policyholders will see rate increases in their
new policies, said spokesman Steve Shivinsky.

Like other insurers, the Blue Shield letters let customers know they
have to make a decision by Dec. 31 or they will automatically be
enrolled in a recommended plan.

“There is going to be a certain amount of churn in the marketplace as people have to make their decisions,” Shivinsky said.

Comments

300,000 LOSE HEALTH PLANS IN FLORIDA

Rest assured that the media will ignore this story, just as they have ignored the healthcare premium increases across the country, the abortion popularly known as "Obamacare," or the anything but Affordable Care Act, and 17 trillion in degenerate spending (and Obamacare hasn't even kicked in yet).

Health plans are sending hundreds of thousands of cancellation
letters to people who buy their own coverage, frustrating some consumers
who want to keep what they have and forcing others to buy more costly
policies.

The main reason insurers offer is that the policies fall short of
what the Affordable Care Act requires starting Jan. 1. Most are ending
policies sold after the law passed in March 2010. At least a few are
cancelling plans sold to people with pre-existing medical conditions.

By all accounts, the new policies will offer consumers better
coverage, in some cases, for comparable cost -- especially after the
inclusion of federal subsidies for those who qualify. The law requires
policies sold in the individual market to cover 10 “essential” benefits,
such as prescription drugs, mental health treatment and maternity care.
In addition, insurers cannot reject people with medical problems or
charge them higher prices. The policies must also cap consumers’ annual
expenses at levels lower than many plans sold before the new rules.

But the cancellation notices, which began arriving in August, have
shocked many consumers in light of President Barack Obama’s promise that
people could keep their plans if they liked them.